Iowa’s Weekly Farmland Prices Report October 22, 2021

Oct 22, 2021

Jason J Smith

Jason J Smith

Auctioneer & Land Broker

Jason is an experienced farmland broker and auctioneer with extensive experience in farmland sales across this Midwest.  Jason has worked with hundreds of clients to create advantageous outcomes.  If you are selling land schedule a consultation with Jason by calling or using the calendar.

Phone: 515-537-6633

It was a slower week in Iowa and fewer auctions to watch but harvest was probably in its final “full week” where nobody was done but some began to finish this week.  Lots of tillage is underway and I see stalk baling starting now too.  It wasn’t a slow week at DreamDirt.  We sold and added 5 new farms during the week and opened out new office location in Storm Lake!  Take a look at our Iowa Farmland Auction Calendar.  We are excited to be in the Buena Vista County location now and I’ll have more on that story later and why its significant for us.  If you want to find us we are next door to Farm Credit Services or Vetter Implement.

Rural Mainstreet Economy Report October

One of my favorite economic reports is the Rural Mainstreet Economic Report by Ernie Goss at Creighton University. It addresses issues close to agriculture so its very valuable to me as an agricultural auctioneer and land broker.  The index has continued to indicate growth in many areas.  This month we see much of the same including support for commodity prices from new exports.  At the same time supply chain disruptions and port issues have slowed exports but the demand remains a positive factor.  Confidence continued to decline this month, not an unusual circumstance as prices climb.  Most notable in this report again is the mentions of farmland prices “accelerating at a very strong pace”  This follows in lockstep with our experiences on the ground as a land sales company in Iowa. 

The report noted specifically for Iowa: “The October RMI for Iowa improved slightly to 65.4 from 65.3 in September. Iowa’s farmland-price index dropped to 81.9 from September’s 87.1. Iowa’s new-hiring index for October expanded to 70.2 from 68.6 in September. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate that compared to its pre-covid-19 level, Iowa’s Rural Mainstreet has lost 8,000, or 1.2% of its nonfarm employment (non-seasonally adjusted)”

Ernie Goss On the October Rural Main Street Index

by Ernie Goss

farmland loan volume chart
heat map of Iowa Farmland sales

Iowa Land Prices at A Glance

Our Iowa Farmland Price Heatmaps have been a huge help for people that want to visiuliaze and research farmland prices in Iowa.  Here you can research your farm’s proximity or the statewide market and see individual sale results, average prices per acre, average price per CSR2 point as well as volumes of sales and the number of acres sold.  Use this market price research tool right here at DreamDirt.  Click the Iowa map to get started.

Iowa Farmland Sales News This Week

Volume of acres sold was off this week from last week’s 3500 with only 2216 acres selling this week by auction in Iowa. Last week our average price per CSR2 was $154 per point but this week it shoots all the way up to $172 per point on lower volume and higher quality farms!  The average price per acre this week was $14,884!  That number is just incredible.  For many that have never sold a farm before but are just entering the market they have a hard time understanding the significance of that number.  It really is incredible to see a weekly average farmland price in Iowa over $14,000!  Averaging over $10,000 per acre even a year ago didn’t happen.  

All the way through this week it was again top of the market numbers without even one skip.  The lowest price per CSR2 point for Iowa Farmland this week was $144.02 in Cass County, Iowa.  Last year at this time that would have been an outlier sale, higher than all the others but today its the lowest sale of the week.  $144 per CSR2 point would have been an exceptional price so its amazing that only a year later its the lowest of the week.  The top number this week was a sale in Sioux County at $200.20 per CSR2 point.  The highest price per acre this week was in Sioux County at $19,750 per acre and the lowest price per acre was $8100 per acre in Decatur County.  Decatur County isn’t any stanger to having the lowest price per acre.  In most instances Decatur County ranks lowest in land values but seeing prices of $8100 per acre in Decatur is a bit of a strange feeling when its above the Iowa state average for farland prices and those numbers look more like northern Iowa!

Next weeks farmland auction volume will increase again and we’ll be back with another Iowa Farmland Report.  Until then, if you have questions please reach out to me at 515-537-6633 or email me at [email protected] 

County Acres $/acre CSR2 $/CSR2
Plymouth 161.2 $14,250 86.6 $164.55
Plymouth 160 $14,250 90.4 $157.63
Plymouth 71.53 $14,650 91.3 $160.46
Decatur 100 $8,100 52 $155.77
Montgomery 702.76 $11,811 80.6 $146.54
Cass 76 $10,600 73.6 $144.02
Plymouth 66 $16,600 94.4 $175.85
Cherokee 152.88 $17,800 96.7 $184.07
Sioux 76.78 $19,750 99.1 $199.29
Sioux 130.29 $19,200 95.9 $200.2
Harrison 233.05 $17,000 88.2 $192.74
Harrison 286.25 $14,600 76.6 $190.60

Request a Free Valuation for Your Farm or Land Property

Whether you’re ready to start the selling process, or even remotely curious, we will gladly provide you with a FREE Market Analysis! If you are in a position to sell land in the Midwest, we want to help you achieve the top of the market on your sale.

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